Cream of Celery Soup

Packed with flavours and comfort. Perfect when you are sick. Lifts you up instantly.

Serves: 4
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Preparation Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:
1.5 cup  Chopped Celery with  leaves
1/2 cup Finely chopped onions
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed
1 tbsp Whole wheat flour
1 cup Milk
1 tsp oil
1 tbsp butter
1.5 cup Veg Stock/water
Salt and freshly ground black peppercorns as per taste

For The Garnish
Finely chopped celery - 2 tbsp.

Method:
1.Heat the oil, add the onions & garlic, sauté for 1 to 2 min.
2.Add the celery and sauté for 2 min.
3.Add 1.5 cups of water/stock and boil on a medium flame for 10 mins.
4.Then blend it to a purée.
5. In another pan, add butter,  once melted, add whole wheat flour, then the milk, once the white sauce thickens, mix it with purée.
6.Add salt and pepper, a tsp nutmeg (jaiphal) & mix well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, add the chopped celery. Serve.

Mexican-Style Corn Soup

After a long absence, I am back with a soup! Winter's around the corner and soup lovers just need a reason to have one!

This is mexican inspired corn soup. Chunky, simple, quick and comforting! Two bowls of it for a light dinner!!

Also, its healthy as it doesn't involve any overcooking. To summarise, its a one pot soup, great for all ages!


Serves: 4 Preparation Time: 10 mins Cooking Time:15mins

Ingredients:

¼ cup spring onion, diced (or regular onion)
1 tbsp garlic, crushed
½ cup Red bellpepper, diced
½ cup Green bellpepper, diced
¼ cup Yellow bellpepper, diced
½ cup corn, boiled
1 medium sized tomato, diced (blanched, preferably)
2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp Taco-seasoning powder
salt, red chilli powder as required
a pinch of sugar
water/stock as required

For Garnish:

2 tbsp spring onion greens, chopped (optional)
2 tbsp cheddar cheese, grated
some crushed tortillas

Method:

1. In a deep pan, heat some olive oil, sauté onions and garlic.

2. Just when they turn translucent, add in the bellpeppers and some salt. Cover & cook for about 2 minutes.

3. Now add in the tomatoes, and corn. Some more salt and cover and cook for 5 minutes.

4. The vegetables should lose their firmness by now. To this, add the taco seasoning (2 tbsp), chilli powder, sugar. Toss it well.

5. Add water/stock upto an inch above the veggies or as per the consistency you prefer. Mix well, cover and let it cook for 7-8 mins.

6. Check for taste and add more of the taco seasoning mix if required and its ready!

7. Garnish with spring onion greens in the soup pot. While serving, garnish with cheese and crushed tortillas.

Enjoy this comforting soup by itself or with some garlic bread!

Tom Kha Soup

Its been a few months having posted. I started working full time which has kept me too busy with no time for cooking or blogging!

So recently, I got the opportunity to cook for a family dinner. They wanted to try the Thai food I make.

I was dying to cook something and this was for a group of 15 people so I was all geared up for this and somehow managed to cook it all despite a busy work schedule.

The menu in Thai was Tom Kha soup, Thai chilli cakes, Corn Cheese Balls (not Thai), Pad Thai Noodles, Thai Red Curry, Fragrant Rice. I also tried to make a panna cotta using china grass which turned out to be a dud because it just refused to set! Though the spiced peach sauce I made along was a hit!

Too much of Tom-yum and honestly its just a thai version of clear soup. So this time, the experimental bug in me wanted to try cooking something new. I have been to Thailand and while I was in bangkok, a dear local friend took me to a Thai vegetarian restaurant and made me taste a vegetarian Tom -Kha, the taste of which still lingers at the name! So I thought let me try this. Its predominant flavour is lemon grass & ginger with mild flavour of coconut milk. The lemony tangy bit will be appreciated on Indian palate!

And with the monsoon setting in, this soup will warm you up and keep the colds and flues at bay!

I went through a lot of recipes, mostly non-veg and finally came up with my own version of this recipe.

Traditionally, its made with chicken, shrimps or other thai seafood. Tom-kha mean chicken galangal. I was skeptical about the pieces of galangal being appreciated in the soup so instead I crushed them in the red curry paste. I tried to make it more textural and flavoursome in the vegetarian version.

I had to make it keeping the diet restrictions of my guests in mind. But my recipe will give you the authentic version of making it. You can then move around with your diet restrictions.

This is low calorie and low fat soup!! So all you guys on a diet can try too!!

So here we go:

Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures as I was too busy cooking and then serving! I'll update it when I make it again!

Serves: 4 Preparation Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
1 cup of vegetables, diced (onions, green cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, babycorn)
2-3 tbsp of mushrooms, sliced (button, oyster, porcini, enoki)
½" galangal, sliced (optional)
½" ginger sliced
1 small tomato, diced
1 stalk lemon grass, diagonally sliced (optional)
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup coconut milk
¾ cup lemon grass extract*
2 cups vegetable stock or water
Salt as per taste
1 tbsp oil (optional)

 To be tied into a bouquet garni:
5-7 coriander stalks
4-5 basil leaves
2 lemon grass stalks
1 kaffir lime leaf (optional)

For Garnish:
3 tbsp of coriander, washed and chopped

Method (if using oil):

1. Heat oil, fry the Thai red curry paste till oil starts oozing from the sides. Then add all the veggies, mushroom, ginger, galangal and tomatoes. Sauté in the paste till all the vegetables are coated with it. This will take about 1 min of continuous sauteing.

2. Now add the coconut milk. Mix well.

3. Then, add the lemon grass extract and the vegetable stock. Add lemon grass stalks and salt as per taste.

4. Once this mixture is hot enough drop in the bouquet garni.

5. Let all the vegetables cook in this flavoured stock till tender and boil for 5 mins. Cover and cook.

6. Squeeze in some lemon juice and put it off heat.

7. Garnish with coriander. Serve hot.

Method ( without oil):

1. Heat the vegetable stock or water. bring it to a boil.

2. Add in the curry paste, coconut milk, lemon grass extract.Mix well.

3. Add in all the vegetables, ginger, galangal, mushrooms, tomatoes and lemon grass stalks. Season with salt and let it cook. Drop in the bouquet garni as well. Cover and cook.

4. It should be done in 10 mins, squeeze in the lemon juice and bring to a boil and its ready to serve!

Notes & Tips:

1. The curry paste is spicy so no other spices required. If you want it more spicy, add in another teaspoon of the paste and mix well.

2. My guests included kids, who were fussy about vegetables in soup. So after the soup was ready, I scooped out a handful of vegetables and blitzed the rest. I was very worried it will change the taste. But hey! it did not!! And it made it thicker... obviously!

But I would not recommend blitzing it as that's not how the soup is served!

3. You may add 2tsp of cornflour slurry while boiling if you want it thick.

4. The choice of vegetables & mushrooms is entirely upto your preference.I'd suggest cooking the veggies until almost done as residual heat will cook it further. Also, because overcooking is very common while making soups destroying the nutritional value!

5. If you can't decide, go with this mix:

Veggies: Babycorn, onions, tomatoes, lemongrass, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, ginger

Mushrooms: Oyster, Button (either or both)

6. For Jains:

Its really simple, just omit the onions. No difference to taste. Proceed as it is. It tastes delicious without mushrooms also!

Let me know how it turned out! Please leave your experiences in the comments section. If you have any suggestions, ideas or made any changes to this recipe, I'd love to know!

Let it rain while you enjoy this delightful soup with your loved ones!

Tomato and Moong soup

Another soup and a healthy one at that!

Its always fun to experiment with tomatoes. They complement different combinations of foods making it so versatile.

So this is Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe. I have made my version of this recipe.

Since having our plain old tomato soup can often get boring so here I tried experimenting with 2 different ingredients that will change its flavour and also make it healthier - Carrots and split green moong dal.

Its also a good soup to overcome those sick days as its light on the stomach and yet nutritious.

So here we go:

Serves: 3 - 4 Preparation Time: 10 mins (& soaking time) Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

3 tbsp split green gram/ dhuli moong daal, soaked for ½ hr
1 medium sized carrot, roughly sliced
1 medium sized tomato, roughly chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced roughly
1 ½ tbsp oil or butter
½ tsp red chilli powder
Salt as per taste
1 tsp black pepper
Water as prequired

For Garnish
2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 tbsp grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Method:

1. Soak the moong dal and chop the tomatoes and garlic.

  

2. Now heat some oil/butter in a pressure cooker and sauté the garlic and carrots for 2 mins.

3. Now add the tomatoes and sauté until soft for further 2 mins.

4. Now mix in the thourougly washed moong daal, 1 cup water, salt and mix well. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.

 

5. Once cooled, blend the mixture and add water according to desired thickness. Do not strain.

 

6. Check for salt and season with pepper and red chilli powder.

7. Garnish with coriander and/or cheese.

Relish this thick soup just like that on a diet evening or with a light dinner.

Notes & Tips:

1. Jains should omit the garlic and add 1 tbsp of ginger and proceed with the recipe as it is.

Carrots can be omitted as well. If doing so, add 2 tomatoes instead.

Broccoli Soup

By now you would be having an idea that I love soups..! So here's another one full of iron..! A very comforting soup for upcoming winters. Though I personally love them at any time of the year!

The luscious green colour is so inviting and believe me this recipe is so simple that you have to try it!
Good for people of all ages and with all kinds of eating habits!
Healthy, Low Fat, Low Calorie, Oil Free, Fat Free, etc.!

Serves 4. Preparation Time: 5 mins. Cooking Time: 8 mins.

Ingredients

1 medium sized broccoli
3-4 garlic cloves, (Optional)
3 to 4 cups water ( as per required consistency)
Salt & Pepper as per taste

For Garnish

Grated Cheddar Cheese
Olive Oil or Butter (Optional)

Method:

1. Thoroughly wash the broccoli before chopping. Now proceed to cutting them into florets. You may wash them again to be doubly sure of any dirt or bugs. Peel the garlic cloves.

2. In a deep vessel/pot get the 3 cups water to a rolling boil whilst add some salt.

3. Once the bubbles are visible, drop in our washed broccoli florets. Top it with the peeled garlic and some more salt. Cover and let it cook for 4 to 4½ mins until tender. Check with a knife if required.
 This will ensure a bright & deep green colour to our soup.

4. Now strain them and leave aside our broccoli stock. In a blender add the lovely green broccoli florets, garlic cloves and water (enough to fill ¾ of the jar). Blend it into a smooth velvety purée.
If consistency is too thick you may add the broccoli stock accordingly.

5. Check for salt and season with pepper. Transfer to serving bowls!
The easy broccoli soup is ready!! Serve hot garnished with grated cheese and a drizzle of olive oil!

Notes & Tips:

1. Jains can skip the garlic and proceed. The soup cannot get more simpler!

2. If you have some fresh goats cheese at hand, chop them into pieces or slice them and use for garnish.

3. You may entirely skip the olive oil and butter, it tastes absolutely delicious even then. The key is the water we boil it in i.e. our broccoli stock.

PS: I did not have my camera handy then, but the next time I make it, I'll take some and update here! 

Red Bellpepper & Tomato Soup

One of the classic soups with a twist that tastes absolutely delicious!

I am sorry I forgot to take pictures while making this soup! So I just have the final dish for you!

So here's the recipe:

Serves 4. Preparation Time: 10 mins. Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

1½ cups tomatoes, chopped.
1 cup red bell-pepper/capsicum, chopped
½ cup onion/shallots, chopped
2 tbsp garlic, crushed
2 to 3 cups veg. stock/water
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Oregano

For Garnish:

Grated Cheese

Method:

1. Chop the onions, tomatoes, bell-pepper and keep aside. Crush the garlic.

2. Heat the oil in a deep vessel. Add onions & garlic and sauté for 2-3 mins.

3. Once soft, add the bell-peppers and some salt and let it cook for another 3 mins.

4. The bell-peppers should now be softer. Then add in the tomatoes and oregano. Cook for 5-7 mins till they are absolutely soft and smashable.

5. Now remove it off heat and blend it all into a smooth purée. Use some water (½ cup) for blending.

6. Sieve the blended purée. Add the water, salt & pepper as required and simmer for 1 min. Serve hot with some grated cheese. Enjoy!!

Notes & Tips:

1. If you have parsley at hand, you may use that for garnish.

2. My Jain readers may skip onions & garlic altogether. Instead, heat oil and add 1-2 bay leaves and then add the capsicum. And proceed step 3 onwards. 

Creamy Mushroom Soup

I have tried variety of mushroom soups at all sorts of restaurants but I haven't come across a single recipe that I wanna go back and try! Most often they are thin or watery, milky, oily or just okayish giving that incomplete feeling.

I love mushrooms! It had been a while having made or had mushroom soup.. So after a lot of surfing, reading and trying various recipes, I made this delicious creamy mushroom soup for all the mushroom lovers like me! 

The cooking time is longer than most methods but it is simple and well worth the taste!

Serves 4. Preparation Time: 10 mins. Cooking Time: 20-30 mins

Ingredients:

For Soup:
300 - 400gms (3 cups) button mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot or onion small, thinly sliced
2 tbsp chopped garlic
3-4 tbsp butter
½ cup cream or milk
1 heaped spoon of wheat flour 
4 cups vegetable stock or water
Salt & Pepper as per taste

For Garnish:
Grated Cheese as required

Method:

1. Firstly, thoroughly clean the mushrooms of all the dirt, mud etc under running water. Now thinly slice them all. I also finely chopped some mushrooms and kept it aside.

2. Thinly slice the shallot and finely chop the garlic. 

3. In a pan, melt all the butter. Once melted, add the sliced mushrooms to it and mix well. 

The pot may look full, but in a few seconds the mushrooms will start oozing out the moisture and reduce in size. 

3. Let it sit on heat for about 10-15 mins. It will leave out all the water and we need to wait until all the water is dried out. Please note that this needs to be done on a slow flame.

4. Once all the water is dried out and the mushrooms are darker, we now add the onions & garlic and let them cook with some salt for about 2-3 mins until soft. 

5. Once sautéed, we now mix in the wheat flour and mix it well and cook it for 2 mins to make sure the flour is not raw. 

6. The flour will get slightly brownish - a sign that it has cooked. We now mix in ½ to ¾ cup stock or water. It should look something like this:

7. Get it off heat and blend this mixture into a smooth purée. 

     

8. Now get it back on the stove and mix in the balance stock/water. Add cream or milk, salt, pepper and the chopped mushrooms. Let it simmer for 2 mins and its ready to serve!

 

Garnish with grated cheese & serve hot! Enjoy!

Notes & Tips:

1. I like it thick, so the quantity of stock/water can be used accordingly. 

2. You may also add some fresh thyme sprigs with step 3. But make sure to remove them before adding flour. 

3. I have used wheat flour for nutritional reasons, you may very well use all purpose flour/maida. It doesn't make much difference to the taste.

4. If you have fresh parsley, you can use that for garnish and add some chopped bits to the soup for additional flavour.

5. I had access to button mushrooms only, but you can add other types - portabella, shitake etc. and adjust the quantity. Just make sure button mushrooms are more in quantity than others to balance the other types. 

If using shitake, soak them before hand and use the soaked water for stock!

Borscht

Monsoons are the perfect time to gorge on healthy soups. Borscht is one of them. It is a Russian soup, the vegetarian recipe given by a Russian friend. Originally prepared with beef, beef stock & veggies, this is the vegetarian version.

I love this deep colour of the soup along with the variety of veggies. 
At large people avoid beetroot, this iron rich soup is not only a healthy but a delicious change.


Serves 6. Preparation Time: 15 mins. Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

For soup:
2 medium sized Beetroots, peeled
1 medium sized potato, peeled
2 small carrots, peeled
1 large onion, sliced
1/4 cup cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup tomato, finely chopped
4-5 tbsp chopped parsley
3 tbsp green capsicum, thinly sliced (optional)
1 tbsp vinegar (optional)
salt  & pepper as per taste
2 tbs oil
3-4 cups water or vegetable stock

For Garnish:
Few sprigs of Parsley
Sour cream or Hung curds

Method:

1.Borscht needs the potatoes, carrots, beetroot & capsicum in juliennes. All of them shall be cut raw. Slice the onions & cabbage. Chop the parsley along with the stalk.

2. Heat the oil in a deep vessel and sauté onions, capsicums & cabbage. After about 2 mins, once softened, add remaining veggies except parsley.

3. Now mix in the salt and cook for another 2 mins. Now add in the water or stock whichever is available. Let all the vegetables cook and release their flavours for about 15 mins. 

4. You can check if the vegetables are cooked. They should be cooked and not mashy. Once ready add the pepper, vinegar (optional) and the chopped parsley and cook for about a minute.

5. The soup is now ready to be served. Garnish with a tbsp of sour cream or hung curds if available & a few sprigs of fresh parsley. You may serve it with garlic bread or soup sticks.
Enjoy!

Notes & Tips:

1. You can also add in chopped celery for some flavour. Add it while you sauté onions.

2. This soup is slightly watery, hence you can add some cornflour slurry if you wish to thicken.